Make-Up Artist Magazine: Saturday, Sept. 30, marked the 25th time House of Shock has opened their spooky doors to the public. This New Orleans-based haunted house has been a leading Halloween attraction throughout the ups and downs of the past two decades. This year is special on many fronts: not only will the company be celebrating their 25th anniversary, but the Halloween deities blessed them by granting them a Friday the 13th birthday.
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Immersive entertainment has always amazed me, and is what brought me to decide to pursue theater as a career to begin with. I love reading about how artists can transform a space and really create an environment for viewers. It seems like the actors were expected to do their own makeup before Bufford came to offer her services. I know actors will do their own makeup for theatrical shows in highschool and college (I don’t know about Broadway), but this is an entire other level of makeup and costume, so Bufford working with the actors probably changed the entire House of Shock experience. I also think it’s fantastic that she is completely self-taught by YouTube videos and practice. Bufford is doing what she loves doing, despite not being “classically trained.” It’s inspiring and encouraging to know that if you can find the resources, you can pursue any art form regardless of formal training.
I have alway been fascinated by special effects in film and theater, and haunted houses are another facet of that work. While haunted houses are overwhelming for me, I appreciate the work that it takes to put them together. I think the haunted house makeup is particularly challenging because of both the volume of actors, and proximity that people who view the makeup. As someone who has worked backstage and dealt with large groups of people, to some degree I relate to what she is talking about. In the article, Bufford mentions “Seeing the satisfaction on their freshly gorified faces and knowing I’ve just gotten them into the right headspace to scare is all worth it.” Her comment completely sums up working backstage. At times work is stressful and intense, but receiving a genuine thank you from somebody that you helped is incredibly gratifying.
Ms. Bufford’s interview is very interesting because of the interesting behind the scenes look at a massively scaled haunted house. The fact that she is able to do the makeup for fifty actors/actresses in only two hours is an incredible feat. I loved seeing her enthusiasm in her responses and how much she was looking forward to the event. Particularly in a haunted house, the makeup is the end all be all. To be able to design on the fly and do it so efficiently is what I found particularly cool about hearing of Ms. Bufford’s work. I love the idea of fully immersive environments, so hearing about how they are created is very cool. I never realized just how much work would be put into the makeup, and I hadn’t thought about the fact that it would have to be done right before the doors opened so that it wasn’t messed up in the in-between time. I’d also love to know how many artists they have doing makeup at any one time.
Special effects makeup has always intrigued me, the idea of using things that are not blood to make someone look like their bleeding seems really difficult and would take a lot of practice. This woman obviously has the experience! To want to create shock, fear, and disgust with makeup proves that makeup is more than a beauty tool. This use of makeup shows that makeup is just another artistic medium that people use in more ways than to cover insecurity. Makeup is seen as a way to put on a mask, even as a lie to some close-minded people. It’s an art form! If it gives you power or puts you in a good mood, why shouldn’t people use it? It’s accepted in a haunted house setting but not in daily life.
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